Mandy’s Zalmy Weiss (center), talking with LCI’s Mark Stroud and Liam Brennan after the blaze. Tenant Aldric Pinto: Heard the alarm, saw the fire. Video posted to X by @NewHavenFire Firefighters rescued 11 people — including three who were hanging out of upper-floor windows — after responding to a three-alarm blaze at a five-story apartment building near the corner of Chapel Street and Winthrop Avenue midday Tuesday. “I’m shaken up,” said Gabe Nadelson as he stood on the sidewalk alongside more than a dozen of his displaced neighbors. The fire started at around 11:22 a.m. at the 45-unit building at 1523 Chapel St., according to Acting Fire Chief Danny Coughlin. City firefighters had the blaze under control by 12:37 p.m. The century-old building, known as “Winthrop Terrace,” is owned by an affiliate of Mandy Management. Battalion Chief and Acting Assistant Chief of Operations Greg Carroll said that responding firefighters rescued a total of 11 people. American Red Cross evaluated a total of 22 for injuries. Coughlin said that three of the rescued tenants were rescued from third-story windows. Fortunately, as of early Tuesday afternoon, no residents or firefighters had been injured. Carroll said that roughly 55 firefighters responded and used ladders, including a 50-foot ground ladder, to rescue those who were trapped on upper floors. Carroll estimated that 12 apartments spread across the third, fourth, and fifth floors were all affected by the fire, smoke, and water. Carroll, Livable City Initiative (LCI) Executive Director Liam Brennan, and LCI Deputy Director Mark Stroud all said that, as of Tuesday afternoon, they did not yet know how many people in total lived in the building. They also didn’t know how many would be displaced. Stroud said that LCI had worked with the landlord to secure access to the apartment building at 300 Winthrop across the street for residents to get inside and stay warm as the city, landlord, and Red Cross worked on helping find hotel rooms for them for the night. “I was very proud of the job” of the city’s firefighters, said Coughlin. “It was a really smooth, well run fire,” especially given the unique challenges presented by all the snow on the ground. “Trying to get up ladders with a couple feet of snow on the grass” is not easy. Neither is “getting close enough to the building with snow piles.” Aldric Pinto, 25, said he was inside his third-floor apartment at 1523 Chapel when he and his roommates hear the building’s fire alarm going off. Upon exiting his apartment, Pinto said he saw fire bursting forth from a neighboring apartment’s door. He and his roommates then fled outside. “We didn’t have time to think,” he said. They just ran. Pinto is a Master’s of Data Science student at the University of New Haven who is originally from Mumbai, India. He’s lived at the Mandy apartment building for the past year and a half. He said that he was particularly eager to get back in to retrieve his passport and other documents confirming his status as an international student. Nadelson, who also lives on the third floor, said he called out from his job as a “cart pusher” at the Stop Shop in Amity because of the fire. He too was inside the apartment when the fire broke out. “I smelled it,” he recalled, and could feel the heat. He said he had to shield himself from the smoke as he fled the building. Fortunately, he made it out OK. In an email statement sent to the Independent Tuesday afternoon, Mandy Management CEO Yudi Gurevitch confirmed that, so far, “no serious injuries have been reported. We have been informed that one individual was transported to a local hospital for evaluation; however, we do not have additional information regarding that person’s condition.” Gurevitch said that his company’s “on-site management team” is working with LCI and the American Red Cross “to assist displaced residents, including coordinating temporary housing and providing access to support resources. Our priority is ensuring that all affected residents receive the care and assistance they need. “We are grateful to the fire department, police, and emergency personnel for their swift and professional response. We will continue to cooperate fully with fire officials as they investigate the cause of the incident and will provide additional updates as information becomes available.’ City Emergency Management Director Kayla Bland with LCI’s Brennan and Stroud. CT Transit driver Tom Reed: Diverted from driving the 282 route to make his bus available to displaced tenants in need of getting out of the cold. Tenant Gabe Nadelson: “I’m shaken up.” Acting Assistant Chief of Operations Gregg Carroll. The post Fire Breaks Out At 5-Story Building appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less